No sense complaining about the weather; we can’t change it. Bundle up and make a day of it. There’s plenty of fish in our waters. Fish for Thanksgiving? Why not?
Captain Ray reminds us that fishing this time of year in a small boat is so weather dependent. When the weather allowed, he had good action, catching stripers on flies and plugs along the inlet rocks and the back-bay.
Sinking and intermediate fly lines using chartreuse or white buck tail deceivers took fish along the rocks.
In the back-bay, using intermediate and floating lines, chartreuse and black silicone mullet flies fooled the stripers at creek mouths and point breaks.
Afternoons were the best times for fishing says Ray, and unlike most trips where it gets better as it gets darker, he had bio-luminescence in the water. Once it would get dark, flies and lures would have a two-foot comet like tail caused by reaction with this special type of algae.
When you would start the engine and move the boat, it looked like it had blue fluorescent lights under it. When going fast it would trail out about 30 feet behind the boat.
It is neat to see, but on three nights as soon as it got dark and the glow appeared, the fish bit shut right down.
Bill (Bucktail Willie) Shillingford, fishing out of Whale Creek, has had some really nice days on back-bay stripers when the wind allowed. His best day was with 24 caught including three legal. The biggest bass was a 37-incher.
There has been a 50/50 split between live spots and bucktails with twister tails. Spots have left the back-bay for the most part so Willie suspects the eel bite will pick up soon.
Rob Flemming reports that despite the rough weather during the week, keeper striped bass are being caught along with lots of shorts, in the Rips, Delaware bay, and from the beaches around Cape May.
A good friend of his caught a 43-pound striper and several others in the Rips, using goldfish from his pond for bait.
Stranger baits have been used to catch bass. Spot, bunker, and clams are the normal baits of choice, and are all producing fish. One bass at 30-inches ended up on Sunset Beach before the weather changed again.
Reports from George and Cathy Algard at Sterling Harbor tell me that bunker chunking for stripers in the Delaware Bay is red hot with fish averaging 20-40 pounds. Dave Ross of Middle Township weighed in a 25-pound and a 26-pound striped bass caught while chunking in the Delaware Bay.
Drifting with live eels or spot is producing nice stripers in the Cape May Rips when you can find clean water. Stripers are also being caught under bird plays near Hereford Inlet on live spot or while trolling Stretch 25s.
The surf has been on the spotty side, but a few stripers are being caught on clam or while plugging. Dave Faust of Royersford, Pa. weighed in a 10-pound striped bass caught on clam in the surf near Hereford Inlet and Ray Pashuk of Wildwood Crest had a 35-inch and a 36-inch striped bass while plugging off the Wildwood Crest beaches.
Bill Myer of North Wildwood released a 27-inch striper caught on a Creek Chub popper off the North Wildwood beach.
Chopper bluefish are being caught around Five Fathom Bank while jigging or trolling under bird plays.
Captain Fred at Harbor View reports lots of stripers caught at the 60-foot Slough and C & B canal. Fishing on the chunk has resulted in fish up to 50-pounds. The Rips has also had good fishing using eels with fish up to 30-pounds.
Fred says there are plenty of blues on the offshore lumps with sea bass on the 100-foot wrecks. He also reports blackfish up to 8-pounds on local jetties. Looking for live bait? Harbor View B&T has it.
Miss Chris, Cape May, also reports good striper action with fish up to 30 pounds. They’ll go out on Thanksgiving Day at 6 a.m. and return at noon.
CALENDAR:
2008 Freshwater Fisheries Forum, Saturday, Dec. 6, 10 a.m., Hackettstown Hatchery. Share your views and recommendations for the future of freshwater fisheries research and management. This forum is of particular importance as fisheries staff will soon be in the process of developing recommendations for regulations changes for the 2010 Fish Code.
Latest license trend information will also be available for discussion. Registration is not required but appreciated, 908-236-2118 or njfwfish@earthlink.net.
Nov. 22, Fight Leukemia Fishing Tournament, Ocean City, 7 a.m.-4 p.m., $50, ll.org/snj or 602-8957.
Check out SeeMyBigFish.com and be sure to send your fish stories and pictures to Be My Guest reporter. Send info to cmiller@cmcherald.com.
Villas – Look what happened on Jan 6 th with Trump, I do not blame’ Michelle Obama for not coming! You cannot trust his allies for it to be a calm day, for her safety she is safer at home.
